How to create common practices with your team/group and address the violation of practices

1. Creating common
practices for the work
community
and
addressing the violation of
practices
Practical tips for supervisors
Specialists: Seija Moilanen and Elina Ravantti

2. How to define
common practices with your group/team

3. When starting to plan ground rules or other common practices
• Remember: You cannot give ready-made rules to others.
• Take the time and reserve a place that allows you to form different types of groups
for discussion.
• Make sure that as many as possible can participate and have their say on the
matter.
• If there are people who cannot attend the meeting, think about a way for those who
were absent to contribute to the rules.
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4. What to do to ensure everyone’s participation and contribution
• What is your goal? What are the issues to which you want to find answers together?
• What questions will you ask?
• How will you work to ensure that everyone can equally participate? For example: at
what point during the meeting should everyone reflect on the matter by
themselves, at what point should they discuss in pairs or with the entire
team/group.
• How will the different views develop into the whole group or team’s opinion?
• How will you document the result of your work?
• How will you monitor that people will act according to what was agreed?
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Use the examples given later in this slideshow to know what to do in practice.

5. What are good ground rules or common practices like?
When the goal is to change a current behaviour or situation, good ground rules or practices
should describe
• what you want to add to the current situation/behaviour
and/or
• what you want to remove or reduce from the current situation/behaviour.
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Only unambiguous and concrete rules or instructions can work.
Seija Moilanen and Elina Ravantti

6. What are good ground rules or common practices like?
Each rule or practice includes actions or practices which have been defined together: what
do I/we do, how do I/we act, and if necessary, what do I/we not do, how do I/we not act.
Compare:
Example 1:
a) I am a fair colleague.
b) I’m doing my part of the tasks as well as I can. I accept different points of view. I act with good
intentions towards everyone, and I don’t criticise the actions of others behind their backs.
Example 2:
a) We participate actively in meetings.
b) Everyone shares their view/asks at least once during each meeting.
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7. How to conduct a preparatory meeting
• Make sure that every participant has supplies for taking notes. Pen and paper are
a good combination.
• Reserve supplies, such as flipchart paper, for the team or group to take notes
together.
• Give an introduction to the subject of the meeting and create an impression of a
positive outcome.
• You can use this blog post written by expert Elina Ravantti (in Finnish).
• You can watch these webinars about how to build trust in the work community (three
videos in Finnish, each lasting about 30 minutes).
• The blog and the videos will give you insights into how trust and the lack of trust
reflect in the progress of work and the work atmosphere.
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8. Read about three different approaches (A,
B and C) and select the most suitable one.

9. How to conduct a preparatory meeting
Option A:
1. Ask everyone to reflect and write down their ideas on their own: What is a good
and functional work community like? The more concrete examples they can give,
the better.
2. Ask them to discuss the subject in pairs or in groups of three.
3. Each pair/group of three should write down their thoughts (at least x ideas per
team). They will then briefly present their thoughts to everyone. During the
presentations, other small groups are allowed to ask clarifying questions, but not
to criticise them.
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Show that you appreciate everyone’s input. Listen, pay attention, ask, thank, encourage.
This also applies to the other options (B and C).

10. How to conduct a preparatory meeting
Option B:
1. Ask everyone to reflect and write down their ideas on their own: What would the
worst possible work community be like? What is it like in there? How do people
act and behave there? The more concrete examples they can give, the better.
2. Ask them to discuss the subject in pairs or in groups of three. Make sure that
everyone gets an opportunity to share their views.
3. Each pair/group of three should write down their thoughts (at least x ideas per
team). They will then briefly present their thoughts to everyone. During the
presentations, other small groups are allowed to ask clarifying questions, but not
to criticise them.
4. Ask every pair/group of three to turn these examples/observations into positive
practices and behaviours.
5. Every pair/group of three will then share their thoughts with everyone, and the
ideas will be written down for everyone to see: This is the kind of behaviour we
expect/wish to see.
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11. How to conduct a preparatory meeting
Options A and B continue:
• If necessary, put similar ideas into their own categories.
• If necessary, help people prioritise ideas by, for example, giving each pair/group of
three/five votes, of which no more than two can be given to their own proposal.
• The practices which are considered the most important will become the common
practices of the work community.
• Define the rules concerning the violation of common practices together (see slides
13–15).
• Make sure that the common practices are placed somewhere visible. Make sure
that they are followed.
• Do a follow-up after a month: Is there a need to change or clarify the practices or to
add or delete something?
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12. How to conduct a preparatory meeting
Option C: Use the Luottamustunti workbook (available for free; in Finnish).
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13. Example of monitoring practices:
defining rules concerning the violation
of common practices together

14. Rules concerning the violation of common practices
What are rules concerning the violation of common practices?
• Jointly agreed policies defining what to do if someone is found acting harmfully by, for
example, acting against what was agreed.
• Rules that define steps to take gradually in such situations, for example:
• If I find that someone is acting against common practices, I will speak to them. (See the video
Once upon a time there was a work community).
• If the person in question continues to violate the common practices after the discussion, I will
report this issue to my supervisor who will then discuss with this person.
• If the situation continues, the supervisor will take disciplinary action by, for example, giving a
reprimand or issuing a notice or a warning. If necessary, reread the common principles and
practices of your workplace.
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15. Why do we need rules concerning the violation of practices?
• Allowing all members of the work community to address harmful behaviour
• Lowering the threshold for addressing difficult issues and contributing to preventing a
vicious circle
• Reducing your burden as a supervisor
• Giving all members of the work community the responsibility to act
• Preventing the development of a culture of silence and non-intervention
• Helping ensure that the ground rules or other common practices work in practice
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The sooner the issue is addressed, the less there will be toxic behaviour, such as hateful talk and shunning.

16. Lowering the threshold for addressing
issues

17. Why is it helpful to practice addressing issues?
• Knowing how to address an issue with someone in a professional, appropriate and
humane way, without offending the person, is a skill which helps build a positive
emotional climate in a group or team and supports the efficient progress of work.
• Bringing up unpleasant issues is difficult for all of us.
• By practicing, we will learn that it is possible and permissible to address an issue.
• Practice helps us find the right words and phrases for each situation, making it easier to
bring up the issue.
• By practicing, we will get used to both addressing an issue and receiving feedback.
• As our skills improve, we will become better in preventing conflicts.
• Knowing how to address an issue when necessary is part of being a professional.
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Feedback is a vital tool for correcting behaviour.

18. How do I practice addressing issues? Exercise 1
1. Incident: Describe exactly what happened. For example:
I noticed how you interrupted Liisa several times during the meeting.
2. Emotions: Describe how you felt about what happened. For example:
I thought it was unfair. / I felt bad about it.
3. Needs: Describe your needs or wishes. For example:
I think it is important to listen to everyone’s opinions equally.
4. Wishes: Describe concretely how you wish the person would act in the future.
I hope that you would let Liisa share her views in the next meeting.
When doing these exercises, watch the video Once upon a time there was a work community.
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19. How do I practice addressing issues? Exercise 2
1. Ask everyone to think how they would prefer people to bring up an issue with
them.
• For example: a situation in which a colleague notices that your actions are against
what was jointly agreed.
2. Ask everyone to share their thoughts with a partner.
3. If possible, ask every pair to share their thoughts with the whole group. Make
sure that these thoughts are not judged by others. The important thing is to focus
on listening to other people’s wishes.
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